Johnson out of Masters

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Dustin Johnson withdrew from the Masters on Tuesday because of a lingering back injury that he aggravated while lifting a jet ski last week, his agent said.

Johnson, a five-time PGA Tour winner who is No. 12 in the world, described the injury as a “tweaked back” on Twitter.

“You have no idea how much I wanted to walk the fairways at Augusta and fulfill what I’ve been practicing for!! I’ll have to root my buddies!” he tweeted.

His agent, David Winkle at Hambric Sports Management, said Johnson first had back pain in January when he withdrew from the Humana Challenge, and played through minor pain the next six weeks.

“His back bothered him from time to time. He kind of played through the pain, but it was never crippling,” Winkle said in a voicemail. “He rested it at Bay Hill, got back to working some last week, and tweaked it last week lifting a jet ski.”